My Festival: Cora Bissett
There are thousands of shows in Edinburgh this month. Please explain why we should come and see yours.
It is a rollicking rock ‘n’ roll trip which will make your heart soar, yearn for the innocence of your youth, remember the dreams you had, love the dreams you created, and comfort you in the loves you have lost. It’s also very funny. Especially if you’re from Fife.
What will we learn from your show that we didn’t know before?
That I ate pizza with Radiohead, that they studied at St Andrew's and were very posh, and that rock tours with Blur were less sex and drugs and more games of Blind Man’s Buff in a hotel foyer and sing-songs round a piano.
Who or what was the biggest inspiration for your show?
Well, as anyone who’s seen it knows, I cite Patti Smith, the post-punk icon, as a real catalyst for me wanting to join a band. So in the most elemental terms, I would say her. That’s where my yearning to perform in a raw, uncensored way started. But in a more recent context, watching my dear friend Adam perform in the show of his life made me start to question ‘what is my story?’ Then seeing the phenomenal performance by Mark Lockyer, about his uncensored journey through his own mental health, brought me right back to the purity of simple storytelling. It was one of the most affecting, visceral performances I’d seen in years. But this show is also about ‘strong women’ and what it is to be a survivor, and what does a ‘strong woman’ even mean? And my wee mum was one of the most quietly resilient souls I’ve ever known, and so she is a huge inspiration for this show too.
What’s the best review you’ve ever had, and the worst?
I really loved the blog Steve Lamacq wrote. Maybe not strictly a review, but maybe I loved it more because it was just his passionate response about the show having been at the forefront of the ‘90s music scene. He said: "Not only is it the best depiction of the early '90s music scene I’ve ever seen, it is a perceptive insight into the hopes and dreams of any band who’s ever touched the hem of success, only to have it whipped away from them. More than that, it’s a very personal story.” The worst was about 20 years ago, when I was in a lovely hip hop musical called Fierce produced by Grid Iron. I thought it was a cracking wee show, funnily enough at the Assembly Rooms where I am once more. I played a downtrodden mum of a young neuro-diverse boy who was getting in with the wrong crowd and I had a couple of trip hop ballads. Alan Chadwick wasn’t impressed, he said I sounded like a “schemie Dido”. Which, y’know, is probably an improvement on Dido, but I don’t think he meant it as a compliment.
Who or what are you most excited about seeing this year?
I am going to see The Rite of Spring, Pina Bausch’s legendary dance piece, performed by dancers from 14 African countries, the gig theatre play No Love Songs at the Traverse and An Interrogation at Summerhall. Also What If They Ate the Baby at the Space, by Chloe Rice and Natasha Roland. A young New York-based duo whose piece is an absurdist anarchic inquiry into surveillance, control and reproductive rights in the USA right now.
Who do you most like spending time with in Edinburgh?
My daughter Naia, who is seven now. I am always looking to bring her to experience some great theatre, circus, dance or whatever I think might interest her. I love to see the festival freshly through her eyes. But also my sister Moz who lives here. I don’t know how many years I’ve crashed on the sofas of her various flats, finding some calm and solace from the madness. Years ago, she would just get used to leaving out a wee plate of leftovers from her dinner for me getting in at the small hours. I was like a wee dog, stoating in and looking for munchies and I’d always find a wee bowl with tin foil on top, and some treasure like a chicken casserole or a Thai curry inside. Finding that at 3am! Yes!
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
I suffer chronic imposter syndrome.
What are the best and worst things that have happened to you at a festival?
The best things are when a show is flying, and there is the buzz. I’ve had a good few shows which have made that big impact, but maybe doing this show last time around, because it’s so personal. And my mum was able to see it whilst still alive and see herself and my dad paid tribute to. I’m so glad she saw it before she passed. The worst waking up on a seedy red satin, stained bed with the detritus of a brothel all around me. Which was actually the set of my production Roadkill, but I couldn’t afford digs, so I was sleeping on the set on various nights. I don’t recommend living so closely in the darkest realms of your own show.
What’s the first thing you do in the morning?
I get up and always have the cold terror I might've lost my voice. I drink two pints of water, steam my throat, and do a wee warm up in the shower to check everything's still working. It's like the only instrument I've got, and if it goes the show goes down. Same for all of us performing and during Fringe time, trying to balance crazy busy schedules, noisy spaces, relentless schedule and still being mum, I am paranoid about losing my voice. It's the first thing in my brain every morning.
Thanks for the interview! We’d like to buy you a drink. Where are we going and what are we drinking?
Oh let’s go up Calton Hill with a carry out, watch the city from above. You can buy me a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and some Monster Munch.
Cora Bissett's show What Girls Are Made Of is at Assembly Rooms Music Hall, 1pm, until 27 August.